For Goodness Cake
by ausllydawmoon
Summary: Or where she's trying to live her dream of owning a successful bakery, and he's determined to try everything on the menu (and to flirt with her until she falls for him, apparently). Auslly. One-shot.


As a kid, her idea of opening her very own bakery was much different than what she's experiencing now. She remembers imagining a flood of people swarming around the counter, waving money in her face and calling out their orders because of how amazing her baking is.

But it's been three days since her grand opening, and she's had about four customers. Total.

She cleans the counter for the sixth time in one hour as she tries to distract herself from her discouraging thoughts. But they still come, and her old fantasy of the successful grand opening of her bakery is replaced with the bleak image of having to close after only a month.

As she continues drowning herself in the repetitive cycle of cleaning the counter and checking the time, she's interrupted by the jingling of the bell above the door, signaling that someone has walked in.

She immediately perks up, plastering a bright smile on her face as she looks up at the customer. "Hi! Welcome to For Goodness Cakes! What can I get you?"

The man is out of breath and seems flustered as his eyes rapidly scan the menu board behind her. He runs his hand through his blond locks and seems to be trying to catch his breath.

"Is there anything I can get in bulk?" he asks. Even his words come out in a rush.

"Yes," she says, thrilled that she's getting a big order. "We have eight different kinds of cookies, ten kinds of cupcakes, five kinds of fruit tarts, and a wide selection of macaroons." She points to each item in the display case.

"I completely forgot to get a dessert for this work party I have to be at in twenty minutes. What can you get me the fastest?"

"Well, for anything I listed above, they're already made."

"I'm talking, like, fifty pastries."

"Wow," she says, raising her eyebrows. "That also depends on how much you're willing to pay. The macaroons are gonna cost more than, say, the cookies, and prices vary depending on flavors of everything, so – "

"Alright, give me two of every flavor of the cookies, cupcakes, and fruit tarts, and four of your favorite flavor of macaroon. Please hurry."

She nods and quickly packs up a box with his order. "I gave you two orange and two lemon macaroons because I can't decide which one I love more."

He nods. "Perfect. Thanks."

She rings him up and hands him the box of pastries after he swipes his credit card.

"Alright, you're all set. Thanks for coming in! I hope all your work friends like the pastries," she says cheerily.

"Thank _you_. You're a lifesaver." He waves and walks out.

"Finally!" she exclaims when he's gone.

The image of people waving money in her face and screaming out orders returns once again, and she doesn't stop grinning until she goes to sleep that night.

* * *

She gets a few more people trickling in over the next few days, and she gains more confidence. She's still nowhere near on track to get to her sales goal for her first six months, but things are getting better.

A young woman holding a little girl's hand walks through the door, and Ally smiles at them. "Hi, welcome to For Goodness Cakes! What can I get you?"

The woman smiles and lifts up the girl so she can see in the display case. "Can I get a red velvet cupcake and…" She looks at the girl in her arms. "What do you want?"

"Chocolate!" the little girl exclaims in delight, pointing to the double-chocolate cupcake in the display case.

The woman chuckles. "And a double-chocolate cupcake?"

Ally grins, chuckling at the little girl. "Of course!"

"So, have you been getting much business?" the woman asks as Ally carefully places the cupcakes into a box.

"Honestly? Not really," Ally admits.

"Well, I'm sure that'll turn around soon, considering your _View_ article," she says as she swipes her credit card.

"Wait… _View_ article as in… _View Magazine_?"

The woman nods. "Yeah. They published a really great article about this place on their blog. You don't know about it?"

Ally shakes her head, trying to contain her excitement. "Thanks for telling me." She hands the woman the box of cupcakes.

"Of course. I hope you get more business soon!"

"Thank you!"

The woman smiles and walks out, and Ally waves at the little girl watching her shyly over the woman's shoulder.

As soon as the woman is gone, Ally pulls out her phone and looks up the article on the _View's_ blog. All she sees are compliments about the taste of the pastries and the look of the bakery and the charming, endearing service.

By the time she finishes reading the article, she's grinning ear-to-ear. She puts her phone away just as someone else walks into the bakery.

"Hi, welcome to For Goodness Cakes! What can I get you?" she says, the grin still on her face as she looks up at the customer. "Hey, you're Mr. Fifty Pastries, right?" she asks, her smile widening.

He nods, looking much more relaxed now than when he came in last time. "Yes I am. But you can just call me 'Sugar Daddy,'" he says. His tone is teasing, and there's a smile on his face.

"Whoa," she says, her face heating up. "That sounds more like Mr. Fifty _Shades_ of Pastries."

He grins more. "Good one." He stands back to look at the menu board, rubbing his hands together as he contemplates his order.

"Did your work friends like the pastries?" she asks him.

He looks at her again, seeming to forget about the menu board. "Oh, yeah," he tells her. "They were the most popular desserts at the party. Everyone was begging me for the name of the place I got them."

Ally smiles. "Wow, really?"

He nods. "Mmhm. They were so good, my boss requested for me and our food critic to write an article about the bakery."

"Wait," Ally says. "You work for _View Magazine_?"

The blond smiles at her. "Did you see the article?"

"Yeah, I just read it after another customer told me about it. You guys said really nice things, it's been getting me more business. Thank you. Really."

"It was the least I could do after you saved me from arriving at the party with no dessert. And everything we said was true."

She smiles more. "Thank you. So, what brings you back?"

"The cute owner," he tells her with a charming smile.

She blushes, suddenly at a loss for words.

"And the pastries," he continues, looking up at the menu board again and licking his lips. "Can I get a dark chocolate fudge brownie? It looks rich, sweet, beautiful, and slightly mysterious. Like your eyes."

She gives him a look, fighting her blush as she boxes the brownie. "You should get cheesecake. It's cheesy, like your pickup lines. And how exactly does a brownie look beautiful and mysterious?"

"I'm passionate about my pastries. And I'm a sucker for brown eyes."

"Alright, Mr. Cheesecake, if you're gonna flirt with me so shamelessly, at least tell me your name."

He smiles and pays for his brownie. "I dunno, Ally, I kinda like these nicknames."

"Wait, how did _you_ know _my_ name?"

"You're wearing a name tag, sweetheart."

She looks down at her pink name tag, and then she looks back up at him. "I knew that."

"Good luck getting more customers, Sprinkles," he tells her, his eyes twinkling with amusement as he picks up the pink box from the counter.

"Thanks again for the article!" she calls as he exits the bakery.

* * *

It's been a few weeks, and Ally's bakery is finally gaining more notoriety. She has a steadier flow of customers throughout each day, and she's gaining more and more confidence.

She also has her first regular.

After he left the second time, Ally looked up Mr. Cheesecake's name on the _View Magazine_ website, and she found out that his name is Austin Moon. And Austin Moon must really love baked goods, because he's been coming in pretty much every day to try something new from the menu. She's pretty sure he's trying to taste everything.

Today's been fairly busy, by her standards, at least. But she's happy to be busy. Busy means successful. Right now, though, the bakery is empty, so she allows herself to get lost in her daydreams of a bigger crowd.

Her thoughts are soon interrupted by the violent jingling of the bell above the door. And she only knows one person who throws the bakery door open like they own the place.

"Ally, I'm feeling cheesy today," he says, walking up to where he gets the perfect view of the menu board from a couple feet away from the counter.

"You're feeling cheesy every day. But I was wondering if you'd try something I'm working on."

He looks at her. "New recipe?"

She nods. "Yeah. I wanna know what you think."

"At this rate, I'll never get through the whole menu."

"Just try a tiny bit. It's not perfected yet."

"Alright, I'll bite. What is it?"

She grins. "Wait here."

She runs into the kitchen and scoops a bite of the new pastry she just made into one of her sampling cups. Then she brings it back out and hands it to Austin.

He pours the contents of the cup into his mouth without hesitation. He chews thoughtfully, and then he looks at her with wide eyes.

"What is this?" he asks, his voice muffled by the food in his mouth.

"I'm thinking of calling it a chocolate sur- _pie_ -se. Because it's basically like a truffle of chocolate pie filling and pie crust. But surprise! It has a cream filling."

"This is the dessert of the gods."

"So you like it?"

He nods. "Put it on your menu. Right now. Immediately."

She giggles. "I can't yet! I'm also thinking of doing other flavors, like apple and peach and key lime."

"Yes, please. All of them."

"You really are passionate about your pastries."

"I really, really am."

"So, what can I get you today?"

"Chocolate sur-pie-se."

"That's not on the menu yet."

He sighs. "Fine. A slice of chocolate cheesecake."

She smiles and gets him the cheesecake before ringing him up.

"So how's business been?" he asks her after he pays.

"Better," she says. "It keeps improving every day."

He smiles. "That's good."

She nods, smiling too. "Yeah. Lots of people mention the article. Thank you again."

"You thank me every day, Sprinkles," he says, rolling his eyes good-naturedly.

"Well, I really appreciate it!"

"And I really appreciate this bakery."

She giggles. "Oh, really?"

"Yes, really. Sweet on the taste buds _and_ sweet on the eyes."

She raises her eyebrows, used to his flirting by now.

He tilts his head, narrowing his eyes as he thinks through what he just said. "Alright, not one of my best. That one was a bit of a reach."

"Little bit," she says, holding her index finger and her thumb close together to make her point.

The bell jingles as someone else walks in, and he glances back at the new customer before looking at her again with a smile.

"Until next time, Cupcake." He gives her a salute and walks out with his cheesecake.

She greets the new customer, trying to control her widening smile.

* * *

"Ally, _date this guy_ ," her best friend insists as they eat Chinese takeout in her apartment.

"I'm sure he flirts with every girl he meets," Ally says, rolling her eyes.

"I doubt it. You make it sound like he really likes you."

"We've got a…thing going," she says, unsure of the right word to use. "It's good. And besides, I don't even know how I feel about him."

"Well, with the way you're talking about him, you definitely don't hate him," Trish notes.

"Obviously," Ally says. "I just…I dunno. I think we just have this back-and-forth thing. You know, how some guys flirt with the Starbucks girl who always serves them?"

"This isn't a guy and a Starbucks girl," Trish says. "This is a guy who works at a _huge_ magazine and is probably rich, and a start-up bakery owner who he's constantly flirting with. Do you really think he goes in there every day because he wants to try everything on the menu?"

"He's passionate about pastries."

" _Ally_!" Trish whines in frustration. "He's passionate about _you_! The pastries are just his excuse."

Ally rolls her eyes. "You're wrong."

"No, I'm not. I wanna meet this guy."

"You're not meeting him."

"Why? Worried I'll embarrass you?"

"Yes."

Trish pouts. "But you're horrible at flirting! I'm just gonna help you!"

"I do just fine with him," Ally tells her. "Besides, he always leaves when there's someone else there."

"Please, Ally?"

"You're not meeting him."

"But I wanna see how hot he is!"

"Then Google him, I dunno," Ally says.

Trish exhales in annoyance. "You're irritating."

"Austin finds me charming and endearing."

"Date him!"

"No!"

Trish groans and shoves more of her food in her mouth, evidently giving up on trying to convince her. For now.

The next day, Trish resolves to sit at one of the small tables along the window of the bakery all day so she can meet him.

Whenever there aren't any customers, Ally tries to make her go away. But her best friend won't budge. For the first time, Ally dreads Austin coming in.

Despite all her wishes, the bell jingles violently at exactly three o'clock, and the blond walks to the counter purposefully, not even sparing Trish a glance. He rests his hands on the counter and leans on them slightly, meeting Ally's eyes.

"Today, I want a lemon square and your phone number."

"Did you look up the menu before you came in or something?" she asks as she boxes a lemon square for him. She doesn't even register the second part of his order.

"No, I'm just craving lemon squares. I like them and they're pretty. They remind me of you."

"I always saw myself as more of a lavender macaroon," she says as she hands him the box and rings him up.

He tilts his head, watching her. "I can kinda see that."

He pays for his pastry and then looks at her expectantly.

"What?" she asks, raising her eyebrows.

"Your number."

"What about my number?"

"Can I have it? It was the second part of my order."

She blushes slightly. "Oh. Yeah."

He grins victoriously and hands her his phone. She punches in her number and hands it back to him, ignoring Trish's smirk from behind him.

"Thanks," he says. "So, when are you gonna put those sur-pie-ses on your menu? I'm running out of new things to try."

"Soon," she promises. "But what'll you do if you _do_ run out of new things to try?"

"Not sure," he says. "Start over, probably."

"Why not just pick a favorite?"

"I can't pick a favorite. Then it'd be way too obvious that I'm coming in here every day primarily to see you. If I have a mission, it's not so obvious."

"No, it's still pretty obvious," Trish pipes up while Ally blushes.

He knits his eyebrows and turns to look at her. "Hello," he says.

She smiles. "Hi. I'm Trish."

"Austin."

"I'm Ally's best friend."

"Oh. I'm her boyfriend."

"No, you're not," Ally tells him.

He looks at her again, a confused look on his face. Then, he seems to come to a realization. "Right, I never told you. I traveled to the future. We're dating."

"Oh, really?"

"Mmhm. As a matter of fact…" He pulls out his phone and looks at it before nodding curtly. "Yep. Tonight's the night of our first date. And if I remember correctly, I picked you up at seven." He smiles at her cheekily and raises his eyebrows, charm practically oozing out of him.

Heat rises to her cheeks, but she ignores it. "You're using a story about time travel as a way to convince me to go out with you?"

"That depends. Is it working?"

She eyes him warily, knowing full well how she feels about him but not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing it. "You tell me. _You're_ the one who knows the future."

He grins. "It works."

"Then I suppose I have to go out with you," she says matter-of-factly.

His smile widens. "I'll pick you up at seven."

Trish screams and runs over to Ally as soon as he walks out of the bakery. Ally giggles a bit, trying to fight the blush still on her cheeks.

"I told you he liked you! Did you see how excited he was?! And he's so _hot_!"

"He is, isn't he?"

Trish laughs. "You'd better hold onto that boy," she says.

"Let's see how this date goes first."

"You have to tell me everything."

"I will."

Trish squeals again. "He's perfect, Ally!"

"He's not _perfect_ …"

"He's perfect _for you_."

"Fair enough."

* * *

"This story isn't supposed to be funny! You're supposed to feel bad for me!"

Ally continues giggling, despite Austin's whining. "I just don't understand how you got the job if the interview went so horribly wrong."

Austin pouts at her. "I didn't. It was for a different magazine. But I guess it's fine, because I was gonna just be an assistant in that one, but I get to actually be a journalist with the _View_."

Ally smiles. "So everything worked out and I don't have to feel guilty for laughing at you. What do you write about?"

"Music. Y'know, new albums, interviews with artists, music festivals, all that stuff."

"Wow, that must be fun."

"It is. I get to hear a bunch of albums before they're released, and I get tickets to concerts and festivals for free. I literally go to concerts for _work_. Plus, I get to meet and do interviews with a bunch of cool artists. It's, like, the best job ever."

Ally smiles more. "Sounds like it."

"So, do you want the last bite of dessert, or are you gonna make me finish it?"

"Take it," she says, leaning back in her chair.

"Oh, come on," Austin says, scooping up the remainder of the treat with his spoon. "This very well may be the best bite of the entire thing, and you would be missing out."

"But if I eat it, then _you'll_ miss out. And I know how passionate you are about pastries."

Austin grins. "I'm willing to make the sacrifice."

"Wow, I must really be special then."

"You are."

He holds the spoon in front of her. She sighs and rolls her eyes defeatedly before leaning forward and eating the last bite.

"You were right," she says with a nod after she swallows. "Best bite of the entire thing."

He grins. "I told you. Wanna know how I knew?"

"Because you traveled to the future?"

"Nope. Because I traveled to the – wait, yes. You are correct."

She laughs and shakes her head, and he smiles victoriously.

He drives her home and insists on walking her all the way up to her apartment, claiming that he wants to be sure no one kidnaps her on the way.

"You just don't wanna say goodbye," she tells him as they walk up the stairs.

"It's that obvious?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, well. It worked."

They stop in front of her door, and he looks down at her.

"So, how'd I do?" he asks.

She smiles. "Well, you were in the future. Don't you remember how I said you did?"

He smiles too. "I do. You said I swept you off your feet and you agreed to a second date."

"Did I?"

He nods. "Yeah. Apparently, my endless charm has you absolutely smitten with me. At least, that's what Future Trish told me behind Future Ally's back."

She giggles at him, and he smiles. "You're too much," she tells him, shaking her head. "I swear, you'll be the death of me."

"Doesn't seem like a bad way to go."

She smiles up at him. "Tonight was fun," she says.

He nods in agreement. "Fun enough for a second date…?"

She chuckles. "Fun enough for a second date."

He grins victoriously. "Then I guess I'll see you at the bakery tomorrow."

"Yes you will. And you should be excited. I'm gonna try another new recipe."

His face lights up even more. "Now I'm even more excited."

She giggles at his bright smile and twinkling eyes. "I like you," she tells him decidedly.

He takes her hand and kisses it, still smiling. "I like you too," he tells her.

Her cheeks tint pink, and she wonders if she'll ever get used to this.

"Goodnight, Ally," he says, letting go of her hand as he walks backwards towards the stairs, still giving her that heart-melting smile.

"Goodnight, Austin," she replies, waving before walking inside.

"So?" Trish asks from the couch.

"Trish!" Ally exclaims with a start. "How did you get in here?"

"Key. How'd the date go? Was he amazing"

Ally sighs, smiling wistfully. "Yeah, he was."

"Do you just adore him?" Trish asks excitedly.

"I'm…absolutely smitten."

* * *

He saunters in right on time the next day, marching right up to the counter and planting a kiss on her cheek.

"So, a new recipe?"

She smiles. "Yes. They're long cookies with different flavors of fillings, dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with sugar."

His eyes widen to the size of saucers. "I might die. Do you have a chocolate one?"

She giggles at him. "Of course."

She walks into the kitchen and grabs him the chocolate concoction, and he looks about ready to burst with excitement when she hands it to him.

"This is the second-best thing that's ever happened to me," he tells her when his mouth is full.

"Only second-best?"

He swallows the food in his mouth and grins. "You're the first."

She rolls her eyes, chuckling. "You already won me over. You don't have to keep trying."

He smiles more. "I know. But it's fun. So, what do you call these?" he asks, holding up the rest of the cookie before shoving it in his mouth.

She grins. "Moonbeams."

"Aw, you named a pastry after me? You really are smitten." She would argue, but he's right. And besides, his mouth is so full of food that she's worried he'll choke when he argues back.

After he swallows, she says, "So, what do you want today?"

"Hmm," he says to himself, stepping back to look at the menu like usual. "I'll have a rose macaroon." He looks at her and smiles. "To match your cheeks when I flirt with you."

"Is there a pastry in this bakery that you _won't_ use to try to flirt with me?" she asks, boxing the macaroon.

"Nope," he replies cheekily. "You remind me of all of them."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah. You're sweet, and cute, and you probably taste delicious."

She narrows her eyes. "That last one made you sound like a cannibal."

"Nah, you know what I meant."

"If you were anyone else, I probably would've banned you from my bakery, you know."

"What makes me different?" he wonders as he pays for his macaroon.

"Somehow, you seemed genuine."

"I was. The compliments were real, but it was all just to make you laugh, you know."

"Then maybe that's it."

He smiles at her and then glances behind him. When he looks at her again, he tilts her chin up gently and presses a soft kiss to her lips. She finds herself smiling too.

"Yep, you taste as sweet as you look," he tells her when they pull away.

She rolls her eyes and smiles, her cheeks heating up from the kiss.

"Aw, you're blushing that much from one little kiss?"

"You're different, Moon."

He grins, his face lighting up as though he just won the lottery. "I am?"

She giggles at his excitement and nods. "Yeah, you are."

"Well, you're different too. In the best way."

He kisses her once more and waves before walking out. But the smile stays with her for the rest of the day.

* * *

"Where were you yesterday?" she asks as they walk along the beach with their fingers intertwined.

"I walked past the bakery, but then I saw the line wrapped out the door and around the corner, so I kept walking."

She grins. "Since I started hiring, I've had so many applications come in. I didn't realize how badly people wanted to work there."

"Well, you're kinda famous around here, if you didn't notice," he tells her. "Best bakery in town. I knew you'd make it. And it only took, like, three months."

"I can't believe so many people like it."

"I can. You, my dear, have a way with the whisk."

She giggles, and he lets go of her hand to wrap his arm around her shoulders. She looks up at him, and her smile widens at how happy he looks just to be with her. He won't admit it, but she knows that _he's_ the smitten one.

"It's all thanks to you and that article."

He rolls his eyes. "Please, Ally. You would've made it with or without me."

"Well, you helped a lot."

"You deserve all the success you're getting."

"Thanks. The moonbeams are a huge hit."

"Well, of course they are. They're named after me."

"Cute."

He beams down at her, like he always does whenever she gives him the slightest compliment, and she tilts her head up to kiss him. He kisses her back eagerly, but then he pulls away, much sooner than she would've liked.

"I'm so lucky I walked into that bakery before some other guy did," he sighs as he brushes her hair behind her ear.

"If it had been any other guy, I don't think I would've enjoyed the shameless flirting. It only would've worked with you."

"Well, for goodness cakes, Ally," he says, grinning at his reference, "you're going to make _me_ blush."

She smiles at him. "Guess I've got you absolutely smitten, huh?"

"You already know you do."

She giggles and kisses him again, loving nothing more than the feeling of Mr. Fifty Pastries smiling against her lips.

* * *

 **Happy New Year's Eve! Thanks to Cassie and Lexy for coming up with the idea and helping me write this one. Thanks for reading!**


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